Elections moving closer
Rumors of early elections resurfaced yesterday after a comment by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and suggestions by university exam markers that this year’s tests had been easier than other years, thus ensuring that more students will be filling places at regional technical colleges. When asked by journalists about speculation that elections will be held this fall, Karamanlis refused to rule out the possibility. «All these things will happen in good time,» the premier said, rather than insisting that his government will see out its full four-year term, as he has done in the past. Karamanlis stoked up suspicions about early elections on his recent trip to Australia but the New Democracy camp has not given a firm indication as to when the polls might be held. «Everyone is asking about election day but nobody really knows when it will be,» said Transport Minister Michalis Liapis yesterday. In opinion polls, the ruling conservatives have maintained a lead of up to 3 percent over their main rivals, the socialist PASOK party. The election talk was further fueled yesterday when senior high school exam markers suggested that students seeking to enter a university or technical college had just taken the easiest entrance exams for several years. The government introduced a tougher entry scheme two years ago, which meant that students scoring lower than 50 percent would not be allowed to enter university-level institutions. This resulted in almost 19,000 places remaining vacant last year, mostly at regional technical colleges (TEIs) in areas that rely heavily on the income from the student population. Representatives of regional TEIs have repeatedly complained to the government about the situation. It has been suggested that this year’s exams had been made easier to ensure that fewer students fall below the 50 percent mark, so that the empty places at TEIs can be filled, while stemming further gripes from the regional communities ahead of a general election.
